Automatic adjustable headlight.



E. E. SANDERS.

AUTOMATIC ADJUSTABLE HEADLIGHT. APPLICATION FILED S'EPT- 27. 1915.

1,235,058. Pateutd July 31,1917.

' INVENTOR. I

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMERSON E. SANDERS, 0F CHAT'IANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

AUTOMATIC ADJUSTABLE HEADLIGHT.

Application filed September 27, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMERSON E. SANDERS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and State ofTennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Adjustable Headlights, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to an automatically actuated dirigible headlight,particularly adapted for use on rapidly moving vehicles such aslocomotives and the like.

One object of my invention is the provision of a headlight of thecharacter above mentioned which is controlled by electrically energizedactuating means which acts to swing the headlight so that the beamprojected thereby will always travel in the direction in which thevehicle is moving; and will not, as in the case with a fixed headlight,be projected tangentially of the path of movement of the vehicle whenthe latter is rounding a curve.

Another object of my invention resides in the provision of novelsolenoid means for actuating the headlight.

And a still further novel feature of my invention resides in theprovision of a novel distributing and controlling switch for saidsolenoid means.

Other objects and novel features of my invention will be apparent fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing forming a part of this specification, and in which I haveillustrated one embodiment of my invention which I have found inpractice to give good results.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a locomotive provided with a dirigibleheadlight constructed according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the locomotive and headlight shown in Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is detail plan view of the distributing and controlling switchfor the solenoid actuating means; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the wiring diagram for theheadlight, switch, and solenoid means.

In detail:

The drawings illustrate the forward portion of a locomotive A includinga boiler body 1 and forward truck 2. Upon the boiler body 1, forwardlyof the smoke-stack 3, is pivotally mounted a headlight 4, the

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 31, 1917.

Serial No. 52,828.

pivot post 5 being carried directly upon the body 1. Back of theheadlight 4 is a second pivot post 6 carrying a bell crank lever 7, thelong arm of which is slotted as shown at 8, whereas the short armcarries a pin 9 engaging in a slot 10 in a tongue 11 on the headlight 4.Thus, as the bell crank lever 7 is moved, the headlight 4 will be turnedto the right or the left as the case may be.

In order to turn the headlight, the solenoid means B is provided, andthis consists of a-plurality of hollow non-magnetic rings 12, eachprovided with a winding 13 consisting of a suitable number of turns. Therings 12 form a cylinder in which an armature 14 fits as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 4; thus, the armature 14 will move back and forth in thecylinder, depending on the coil which is energized. The armature 14carries a rod 15 provided at its outer end with a link 16 connected bymeans of a pin 17 with the bell crank lever 7. The pin 17 is adjustablein the slot 8 by means of any suitable arrangement and thus, theoperative length of the long arm of the bell crank lever 7, may beshortened or lengthened as conditions may require.

To properly energize the different coils of the solenoid relay B, anysuitable source of current, such as a dynamo C, may be provided, itbeing understood that this source of current may be either a storagebattery or wet cell of any type, one pole of which is in electricalcommunication with a wire 18 which, in turn is in communication with onepole of each of the coils 13, whereas the other poles lead to segments19 of a distributing switch, one being provided for each coil. Thesesegments are insulated from one another and are arranged on an arehaving as its center the axial line of the forward truck 2. Thesesegments are carried by a bracket 20 bolted to the frame of thelocomotive and the wires lead through a tube 21 to the solenoid relay B.To complete the distributing switch designated as D, a contact member 22is provided which has its shank 23 journaled in the bracket 24 mountedon the frame of the truck 2 and on a radial line with respect to the arcof the segments 19. To insure contact of the member 22 a spring 25 isprovided which is po sitioned between bracket 24 and the head of thecontact member 22. The segments 19 are of sufiicient height tocompensate for the relative vertical movement between contact member 22and said segments 19, and the spring takes care of any lateral movement.The shank 23 is inconnection with the remaining pole of the source ofcurrent G, and thus as the truck 2 moves when the locomotive is roundinga turn the contact member 22 will pass successively over the segments 19energizing their respective coils l3 and drawing the armature L1 in theproper direction to move the headlight 4: to the left or right dependentupon the direction in which the locomotive turns.

It will be evident from the foregoing description that I have providedan automatically actuated dirigible headlight of simple construction.However, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to thespecific construction herein clescribed except in so far as the appendedclaims import.

Also it will be evident that gears instead of levers may be provided toconnect the armature with the headlight, and that the solenoid mayextend either longitudinally or transversely of the engine body 1.

I claim:

1. An automatically actuated dirigible headlight for vehicles comprisinga pivotal support for said headlight, an electrically reciprocatedarmature, levers connecting said headlight with the armature for turningmovement by the latter, and means including a source of electricalenergy for moving said armature to selected positions, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination with a pivotally mounted headlight for vehicles, ofmeans for directing the beam projected thereby into the path of thevehicle when the latter is rounding a turn, said means comprising anelectrically actuated reciprocable member including lever meansconnecting said member and headlight, substantially as described,

3. The combination with a pivotally mounted headlight for vehicles, ofmeans for directing the beam projected thereby into the path of thevehicle when the latter is rounding a turn, said means comprising anelectrically actuated reciprocable mem ber including lever meansconnecting said member and headlight, and means co-acting with therunning gear of the vehicle to control the movement of said reciprocablemember, substantially as described.

4. An automatically actuated dirigible headlight for vehicles,comprising, a pivotally supported headlight, a bell-cranlr lever havingone arm in connection with said light, a reciprocable arm in connectionwith the other arm of said bell-crank lever, a plurality of alinedhollow cylindrical magnets forming a cylinder receiving the free end ofsaid reciprocable arm, and mechanism for selectively energizing saidmagnets to move said arm inwardly and outwardly to swing said headlight.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

EMERSON E. SANDERS. Witnesses RUSSELL K. ANNIs, L. A. GRIFFITHS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

